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Editor&#8217;s Note: Truckin&#8217; Out to Main Street

A food truck pavilion that had actual trucks, as well as companies that make and equip trucks, design firms that “wrap” the exterior with graphics

June 29, 2010, 08:00 pm
By Bob Ingram

A food truck pavilion that had actual trucks, as well as companies that make and equip trucks, design firms that “wrap” the exterior with graphics and logos, point-of-sale providers, and other businesses that support the mobile food truck industry, was among the novel additions of this year’s National Restaurant Association (NRA) Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show in Chicago in May.

“Mobile food is stirring things up,” says Ray Villaman, founder of Mobi Munch, a San Francisco-based consultancy for the food truck industry, who moderated a panel of food truck operators and advocates at the show, as well as participating in the pavilion with partner Chef Ludo Lefebvre.

To my knowledge, there are no supermarket operators in the food truck business -- yet. Why not? It would be a good way to both get your foodservice products and brand out on the street – literally -- and make some money while you’re at it. The trucks would be mobile billboards, providing both advertising and built-in public relations (after a whisper into the ear of local media).

And, the company food truck(s) could use inexpensive marketing, announcing their locations to loyal fans through Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites. You could even let customers vote on the day’s site, as some food trucks do now.

What’s more, a food truck would also allow you to geographically target a particular niche or market, like, say, college students or office workers. And once they’ve been impressed with the menu offered on the trucks, the next step is for them to become regular in-store foodservice customers.

And the theme song to announce your truck’s presence? Of course, the Grateful Dead’s “Keep On Truckin’!” But pay those royalties, or you’re liable to be jinxed by the ghost of Jerry Garcia, who can induce flashbacks.